The present invention relates to a vehicle of a type moved by a user, such as a scooter.
1. Field of the Invention
However the subject matter of the invention can be utilised for any type of locomotion vehicle exploiting the action of an operator as the motive power.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that common scooters presently widely on the market consist of a base frame or board designed to support a user or rider; the frame is equipped with a first and second wheel rotatably in engagement with said frame in such a manner as to enable movement of the scooter itself.
The structures of known type are then provided with an appropriate steering handlebar to enable the scooter to cover curved trajectories.
As regards movement, a scooter is pushed by the rider that puts one foot on the frame and pushes against the ground with the other foot giving it an advancing movement.
In addition to the above described and well known type of scooter, scooters provided with additional features have become available in recent times.
In a first type of these scooters use of an appropriate movement unit mounted on the fixed frame is provided that offers the rider the possibility of imparting an advancing movement to the scooter without pushing against the ground with one foot. In other words, the scooter is equipped with a suitable pedal to be pushed by the rider's foot for operation; the pedal is oscillatable in an alternated manner around a fulcrum and adapted to operate a movement unit capable of converting the oscillatory movement into a continuous rotatory movement directly imparted to the rear wheel. This means that the rider is able to impart an appropriate forward thrust to the scooter by moving the pedal with a single leg.
This type of scooter has had a further development involving association of a rocking lever with the support frame, said rocking lever being made of one piece construction and extending over the whole longitudinal length of the support surface of the scooter. The rocking lever is hinged in the middle on the support frame and can be oscillated around this axis.
In particular, a user riding a scooter and having one foot in correspondence with the front wheel and the other foot in correspondence with the rear wheel alternately moves his/her weight to and fro thereby causing the rocking lever to oscillate.
Linked to this rocking lever is a chain that through appropriate intermediate members, imparts a continuous rotatory motion to the rear wheel.
Therefore, this type of scooter too is able to allow movement of the vehicle without the rider being-obliged to push against the ground with one foot.
While the above described known scooters have been hitherto on the market, they however have some drawbacks and/or limits in operation.
In fact devices having means for motion generation on board are often of uncomfortable use. In fact, in the scooters provided with a driving pedal the same leg is always to be used to supply the required energy for motion.
If the rider is tired to use one foot for driving the scooter, use of the other foot is substantially impossible; in addition, to enable the scooter to advance to a convenient speed, the pedal must be operated over a long path stretch. This obviously gives rise to an uncomfortable position in addition to a considerable effort for operation.
With reference to the above described third type of scooter that is provided with an oscillatable rocking lever, it is to be pointed out that the particular arrangement of the plate necessarily involves an uncomfortable position for the rider driving the motion-transmitting unit. In fact the user rides the scooter with one foot at a position greatly advanced towards the front wheel and the other foot at a backward position, close to the rear wheel. In addition, the two feet are at different heights so that the rider's comfort is further reduced.
Finally, in order to obtain a good advancing, big travels of the oscillating end portions are required and said portions must have a suitable distance from the fulcrum. For the above reason a rider must alternately move his/her weight backward and forward, taking into account the fact that the rider's fully backward position is not only uncomfortable but also much less steady than in conventional scooters devoid of driving units.
It is also to be pointed out that in the presence of potholes or debris, positioning of the overall (scooter and rider) centre of gravity is of a fundamental importance to ensure an optimal steadiness and roadholding of the vehicle, which feature is not present in the above described scooters.